The present invention pertains generally to controlling pests on an animal. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a substantially fully automated system for applying carrier-based mixture containing one or more pesticides to bovines. The present invention is particularly, but not exclusively, useful for variably discharging carrier-based mixtures on cows in a dairy herd.
Control and management of pests has proven challenging, costly, illusive, and frequently ineffective. Pests of concern to dairy herdsman include (i) not only the conventional class of arthropods and related classes and orders known as muscoid and nonmuscoid flies, but also (ii) arachnids, a class of mainly terrestrial arthropods comprising spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, and the like, (iii) ectoparasites, which are parasites living on the surface of an animal, and (iv) endoparasites, parasites living within an animal. Muscoid and nonmuscoid flies, for example, in a wide variety of species, cluster synanthropically to humans and their domestic animals, or in close proximity to humans and domesticated animals such as cows.
Pests are of concern because of their dramatic impact on the economics of animal production, a commercial industry constituting a significant contribution to the gross national product of the United States. The dairy cattle industry has been estimated to produce $12 billion annually. The several different species and classes of flies commonly found on livestock and livestock premises may cause a number of problems, including irritating cows so severely that milk production suffers; transmitting disease pathogens; increasing enteric (intestinal) diseases among humans associated with cow herds; violating regulatory rules and regulations, and generating a host of related problems.
A variety of devices, apparatus and methods have been proposed for controlling pests among cattle, including dairy cows. Except for the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,660 B1, issued May 15, 2001 to the sole inventor named in this application, and in the co-pending and allowed application cross-referenced in this document, (xe2x80x9cPrior Inventionsxe2x80x9d), none has proven effective in achieving the level of control demanded by industry operators, or providing substantially automated control of pest populations. No other solutions provide apparatus and methods for varying the rate and amount of discharge of ingredients used to combat pests, particularly the rate and amount of chemical discharge, to reduce costs while maintaining pest control on and around animals.
Known proposals for controlling flies attracted to cattle include burying parasites in soil beneath the surface of the soil on which cattle are penned. Other pests, including nematodes, have been introduced into herd locations in hopes of fly control. Flytraps using bait attractants have been used. Those techniques have proven ineffective in controlling fly populations attracted to cattle pens. Parasites achieve control of only a small portion of a fly population, and then only temporarily. Parasites reproduce more slowly than the rate at which flies reproduce, and their hatch rates are unreliable and unpredictable. An effective parasite population also may be reduced because parasites die or fly way. Use of parasites as a method for attempting to control flies among cattle is labor intensive, therefore expensive, usually making the solution unacceptable to an operator of a cattle business. Virtually no control is achieved using nematodes. Nematodes are not suitable for use in acidic soils. Because of the large amounts of manure and urine produced by multiple pens of cattle, all soil used for cattle becomes acidic. In addition, use of nematodes is impractical because nematodes must be applied or introduced into a herd at night, only after rainfall, and reintroduced frequently to achieve any measure of success in controlling pests on an animal and animal herd. No marked reduction of a pest population occurs with use of fly traps. Flytraps, for example, rely on bait. No bait, however, has proven effective for flies, particularly on large tracts of land used to pen large cattle herds.
Spraying or fogging chemicals on cattle has proven marginal in achieving control of flies for long periods of time. Fogging causes droplet drift, so fogging is not cost effective. For similar reasons, aerial spraying has proven no more effective than use of fly parasites, nematodes, and fly traps using bait attractants.
Other proposals for controlling pests among cattle include feeding cows oral larvicide and applying residual pesticides on the underside of shaders. No significant long-term reduction in the fly population has been observed using an oral larvicide, primarily because no chemical that might work effectively against flies may be fed orally to milking cattle. Even more primitive devices have been used, such as back rubbers, both manuals and automated. A manual back rubber applicator requires an operator to periodically remove, dip into a chemical, and reinstall a rubber device above the back of a cow that walks beneath the rubber device. No noticeable difference, however, in fly population has been observed using this method, and automated variations have proven no more effective. Ear tags, or other apparatus attachable to parts of an animal""s body, containing a liquid chemical or pesticide dispensable on an animal, also have not satisfied the industry requirements for an apparatus that provides substantially complete control of the fly population in the form of a substantially automated system requiring relatively little attention during operation. Ear tags or similar apparatus connectable to parts of an animal body cannot be designed to release or apply sufficient chemicals either to an animal or to flies.
Attempting to control pests by spraying underneath shaders, direct spraying of roosting flies, and spraying vegetation near cattle pens, also are ineffective. Those techniques may eliminate problems associated with food and water contamination, but are labor intensive and expensive. An average dairy herd, for example, requires six to seven hours to complete one such spraying cycle, a cycle that must be repeated often to achieve even minimal control. A problem encountered by these methods is the tendency of flies to change roosting areas regularly, requiring an operator to hunt fly roosting areas to effectively induce a spray.
Larvicide spraying has not proven feasible because of the huge volume of water required to penetrate at least three inches below the surface of soil where fly larvae feed. The typical service truck carries only 500 gallons of water, and for a cattle herd held in a common arrangement of twelve pens, the cost of frequent larvicide applications is prohibitive.
As the inventor named in this document has disclosed in prior applications and patents, a mixture that includes at least one chemical and at least one oil, although expensive, has proven the most effective combination of ingredients to control pests among bovines, particularly in dairy environments. As used in this document, the term xe2x80x9ccarrier-based chemical mixturexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cmixture of carrier-based ingredientsxe2x80x9d includes a wide variety of carriers such as oil, silicon, polymers, gels, and thickening agents that are chemically inert and that are useful in connection with the present invention. Also as used in this document, the term xe2x80x9cchemicalxe2x80x9d includes, as non-exclusive examples, pyrethroids, organopolysiloxanes, organophosphates, and systemic endoparisites, among others. Accordingly, it would be of considerable advantage to provide an automated carrier-based pest control system for applying a mixture of carrier-based ingredients on bovines assembled in herds.
The present invention provides important advantages over present technology. At least one advantage of the present invention is the capability for variably discharging ingredients on an animal. The term xe2x80x9cvariably discharging,xe2x80x9d and equivalent forms used in this document include discharge of a mixture of carrier-based ingredients at different times, in differing rates, in different amounts, in varying spray patterns, either continuously, or in one or more interrupted sequences. The term xe2x80x9cdifferent spray patternsxe2x80x9d includes at least the conventional substantially funnel-shaped spray pattern associated with nozzles, as well as a substantially focused stream or jet of a mixture of carrier-based ingredients. The term xe2x80x9cvariably dischargingxe2x80x9d also contemplates random discharges from the system. These features of the present invention significantly reduce waste of expensive chemicals, and consequently the cost of pest control, while achieving substantially full control of pests. Environmental hazards are substantially reduced. The apparatus of the present invention is so efficient that little chemical is wasted, thus affording the user a significant chemical cost reduction.
Accordingly, at least one object of the present invention is to provide an automated carrier-based pest control system for applying a mixture of carrier-based ingredients on bovines assembled in herds. Such a system, preferably in a permanent installation for controlling pests on cattle, allows regular, repetitive, effective and thorough application of the best and most appropriate combination of ingredients, including carrier-based chemical mixtures, while substantially eliminating user involvement during operation of the apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is the use of a variety of sensors, including units that include sensors in combination with counters and other devices for applying carrier-based ingredients on bovines. The sensors may include diffused deflective infrared sensors, which also may be used with a plurality of pulse/speed indicators, to cooperate in discharging ingredients based on the rate of movement of the animal.
Still another object and advantage of the present invention is the inclusion of one or more sensors operatively connectable to the discharging means for regulating discharge of the carrier-based mixture of chemicals consistent with, and as a function of, the speed of the animal.
Another object and advantage of the present invention includes a pest control apparatus that includes one or more sensors that can control discharge of the carrier-based mixture of ingredients regardless of the location of the animal in relationship to the sprayer.
Yet another object and advantage of the present invention is responsive to the fact that insects may not cluster or be distributed uniformly or homogeneously on an animal""s body considered as a whole. Rather, insects may cluster on one or more locations on an animal. For example, insects may mass along the back of a cow, on the head of a cow, or on the stomach of a cow. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means for varying not only the configuration of the sprayed discharge of the carrier-based mixture of chemicals from the apparatus, but also the locations on the animal anatomy that the discharged mixture may be directed in varying amounts.
Another object and advantage of the present invention is an automated carrier-based pest control system for applying a mixture of carrier-based ingredients on bovines assembled in herds that respectively are easy to use and to practice, and which are cost effective for their intended purposes.
These and other advantages are achieved in the present invention by providing an automated carrier-based pest control system for applying a mixture of carrier-based ingredients on bovines assembled in herds in which the ingredients are dischargeable through one or more regulated and adjustable nozzles that may be attached to a unitary sprayer, or mounted on a gate or dividing bar used to temporarily inhibit passage of cattle through a permanent installation for controlling pests in a herd. Nozzle flow is adjustable and may be regulated, using a valve, solenoid, or mechanical means to adjust the configuration of the spray. As indicated, an animal""s presence, location, and movement may be monitored by not only a sensor, but a sensor-timer combination or similar combination of sensors.
The system of the present invention also includes one or more programmable controllers for variable discharge rates from the spray apparatus on the animal, as well as a variety of timers for scheduling discharge of the ingredients at any desired time interval. The system also provides a plurality of pulse/speed devices for discharging ingredients as a function of the position of the animal in relation to the spray apparatus.
It will become apparent to one skilled in the art that the claimed subject matter as a whole, including the structure of the apparatus, and the cooperation of the elements of the apparatus, combine to result in a number of unexpected advantages and utilities. The advantages and objects of the present invention, and features of an automated carrier-based pest control system will become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying following description, drawing figures, and appended claims.
The foregoing has outlined broadly the more important features of the invention to better understand the detailed description that follows, and to better understand the contribution of the present invention to the art. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood from the invention is not limited in application to the details of construction, and to the arrangements of the components, provided in the following description or drawing figures. The invention is capable of other embodiments, and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology employed in this disclosure are for purpose of description, and should not be regarded as limiting.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the conception on which this disclosure is based readily may be used as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the purposes of the present invention. The claims, therefore, include such equivalent constructions to the extent the equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the abstract associated with this disclosure is neither intended to define the invention, which is measured by the claims, nor intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
The novel features of this invention, and the invention itself, both as to structure and operation, are best understood from the accompanying drawing, considered in connection with the accompanying description of the drawing, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which: